WSOP 2023 Day 11 Recap: Valentino Konakchiev Captures Maiden Bracelet while Justin Bonomo and Joe McKeehen Each Look to Capture Number Four

Day 11 of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw one bracelet awarded to Valentino Konakchiev, who captured Bulgaria's first braclet of this year's series. Several other events reached their final day of play, with Event #20: $1,500 Bagugi adding on an extra day to determine a winner. The $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship played down to 14 players and former Main Event Champion Joe McKeehen bagged the chip lead as he searched for bracelet number four. Meanwhile, Day 1 of the $50,000 High Roller drew out 111 entries and saw Justin Bonomo finish the day with the top stack. 

Valentino Konakchiev Brings Home Bulgaria's First Bracelet in 2023

A field of 1,137 entrants came to play in WSOP Event #19: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout, but at the end of it, one man was left standing. That man was Bulgaria's Valentino Konakchiev. Konakchiev made his first appearance at the WSOP final table count when he walked away with the win and $435,924 payout. 

But Konakchiev's path to the title was by no means easy. He had to work his way past two bracelet winners in France's Alexandre Reard and Argentina's Andres Korn on his way to the winners circle. 

The final table of Event #19 certainly put the World in World Series of Poker, with players from seven different countries making it to the final nine. And with Konakchiev coming into the final six in the middle of the pack, he certainly had his work cut out for him. 

Andres Korn got out to a hot start during the final six, making a set against the two pair of start of day chip leader Girish Reknar, and quickly amassed a mountain of chips. Players remained vigilant for nearly two hours before the first of the final six was eliminated though. It was Ankit Ahuja who would have that unfortunate honor when Reards ace-eight held up against his queen-four. Girish Reknar and Ruben Costa would be the next two to fall with Korn and Reard each taking another elimination. 

From there, it looked to be anyone's game, as players had nearly even stacks. And though there was a good chance a second braclet would be awarded to Korn or Reard, it was Konakchiev who was able to battle through for his first. Konakchiev eliminated Reard first when his ace-three found gin on a ten, three, seven flop against Reard's ace-six, and he would head into heads-up play with a 2:1 chip lead on Korn. 

Korn kicked things off with fireworks, as he turned a pair of tens into a bluff, getting Konakchiev to fold top pair on a scary board. But Konakchiev powered back and doubled through Korn in a massive flip with sixes against ace-seven. 

The tide of the match really turned when Korn tried another massive bluff with ace-king high on a jack-high board, but this time, Konakchiev pulled the trigger on a call and left Korn extremely short stack. The match finished not long after with Konakchiev taking the rest of Korn's chips and claiming his first bracelet in the process. 

You can read more about how the final table went down right here in our event recap. 

Joe McKeehen Bags the Chip Lead Heading into Day 3 of $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship

A total of 46 players returned for Day 2 of the $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship, and with late registration still open, several players joined them to start the day. Among those to join the field on Day 2 were Daniel Negreanu, Nick Schulman, Paul Volpe, Jake Schwartz, Ben Yu, and recent double bracelet winner Chad Eveslage. 

Play would continue on steadily, cutting the field of players down to 22, and putting players on the money bubble. It would be Eric Wasserson who was the unfortunate bubble boy though. After finding himself on a short stack, Wasserson called all in on a jack, six, four monotone board with king-queen and no flush draw. The agressor, Yong Wang, held pocket nines and rivered a flush to put the remaining 21 players into the money. Among others to fall short of the money on Day 2 were Bill Klein, Joao Simao, Nate Silver, A.J. Kelsall, Michael Moncek, and Shaun Deeb. 

Several players were also eliminated before the end of the day as well, but were able to walk away with a few dollars for their efforts. Former Main Event Champion Koray Aldemir (21st - $16,000), Paul Volpe (20th - $16,000), Ian Johns (16th - $17,500) and PokerGO President Mori Eskandani (17th - $17,500) all made it to the money before dropping out of the event. 

With just 14 players remaining, a star-studded field remains, including bracelet winners Josh Arieh, Nick Schulman, Kevin Song, Ronnie Bardah, and Ben Yu. But they are all led by multiple braclet winner and former Main Event Champion Joe McKeehen who is looking to capture a fourth bracelet. 

Coverage of the $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship will be available to watch on PokerGO YouTube channel starting at 1 P.M. PT with Players playing down to a winner on Saturday. 

Justin Bonomo Nabs the Biggest Stack on Day 1 of the $50,000 High Roller

A total of 111 entries came out for WSOP Event #23: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller and much like the $25,000 that came before it, a star studded cast showed up for action. 

But many stars fell from the sky on Friday as the likes of Sean Winter, Nick Petrangelo, Nacho Barbero, Dylan Linde, Galen Hall, Bin Weng, Stephen Chidwick, and David Peters all bowed out on Day 1. On the other end of things, Chance Kornuth, Sam Soverel, Chris Brewer, Talal Shakerchi all bagged up massive stacks heading into Day 2. They are all trailing Justin Bonomo though, who bagged a gargantuan 2,024,000 to finish the day. 

In the biggest hand of the tournament so far, Bonomo and Ren Lin played a massive pot. Lin three-bet Bonomo's open preflop, which Bonomo called. Bonomo check called on a nine, four, five flop before a six came on the turn. Both players checked once more, and another four hit the river. There Bonomo jammed all-in and Lin thought for just a moment before calling with jacks. Bonomo flipped over pocket fives through for a full house, and that would propel him into the chip lead with a nearly 2,000,000 chip stack. 

Others to make it into day two include recent bracelet winner Ike Haxton, Dan Smith, Kevin Rabichow, Brian Kim, and 2022 Main Event Champion Espen Jorstad. 

Players return for action on Saturday where they will play down to a live streamed final table which will air on PokerGO on Sunday. 

$1,500 Badugi Sees a Fourth Day of Play with Yingui Li Leading

Thirteen players started the day in WSOP Event #20: $1,500 Badugi, and with a plan to play down to a winner, there was some work to do. 

Action started quickly with the elimination of John Bergendhal in 13th place at the hands of Owais Ahmed, and he was followed out by Terrence Chan (12 - $6,923), Jon Turner (11th - $8754), Matthew Leverty (10th - $8,755), and Jack O'Neill (9th - $11,356). It was storied poker pro David 'ODB' Baker who would bubble out of the final table through, when he fell to Danny Tang in 8th place. Baker had a live draw against Tang's king-dugi, but would find a second spade and face defeat, but not without taking home a cash worth $11,356. 

Action continued on at the final table with the eliminations of Lee Horton (7th - $15,102), Owais Ahmed (6th - $20,577), Danny Tang (5th - $28,270), and Matt Vengrin (4th - $40,996) before play reached a standstill. During that time, China's Yingui Lee took over the chip lead from Portugal's Michael Rodrigues with American Serhii Popovych staying steady in the middle of the pack. With three players remaining, players were given one level to reach heads-up play, but with that outcome not coming to fruition, players bagged for the night to continue with Day 4 on Saturday at 1 P.M. PT. 

Currently guaranteed at least $59,879, each of the final three players is eyeing the top prize of $144,678 and their first gold bracelet. 

$1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Reaches Final Day; Day 1C of Gladiators of Poker Sees Richard Gao Bag Huge; Yuval Bronshtein Near the Top in $1,500 Razz

Three more events played out on Day 11 of the 2023 WSOP with Event #21 reaching it's final day of play with 13 players remaining. Three braclet winners remain in contention with Mike Gorodinsky, Dan Matsuzuki, and PGT regular Ronald Keijzer all still alive with a chance to add to their collections. Players will return Saturday to play down to a winner who will collect a $267,991 payday. 

Day 1C of the $300 Gladiators of Poker brought out a whopping 6,110 entries and leading the way at the end of play was Richard Gao. Other's to make it trough Day 1c were Mike Allis, Timothy Miles, Melanie Weisner, Josh Reichard, and Justin Lapka to name a few. 

The $1,500 Razz also kicked off on Friday with a record-breaking 556 entries showing up for action, topping the previous record of 462 entries from 2015. Maksim Pisarenko topped the field with 251,000, good for 31 big bets, but with 170 players advancing to Day 2 there is still plenty of play left in the event. Among others to advance to Day 2 were Yuval Bronshtein, Eoghan O'Dea, Jeff Madsen, and Michael Moncek. 

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